Toy electric railway car



March 24, 1953 R. L. F. MCDONALD TOY ELECTRIC RAILWAY CAR Filed Sept. 6, 1947 INVEN TOR. ROBERT L. E M DONALD A T TORNEY Patented Mar. 24, 1953 TOY ELECTRIC RAILWAY CAR Robert Louis F. McDonald, Rochester, N. Y., as-

signor to R. L. McDonald Company, Rochester,

Application September 6, 1947, Serial No. 772,519

' (c1. re-217) 7 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to toys and to electric motors therefor, and in particular to toy railway cars and to electric motors such as are adapted to be employed in propelling such cars on toy electric train tracks.

The primary object of this, invention is to construct an electric motor suitable for use in the cars of toy trains which will be extremely simple in structure and contain as few parts as possible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple elec ric motor which will be set in motion' by movement of the car in which it is mounted, and which will continue in motion, driving that car, until the car itself is stopped.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a toy hand car for toy railways, which in operation will closely simulate a hand car, such as used on standard railway systems, and yet which will be simple in construction and of relatively low cost.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view through a toy hand car constructed according to this invention showing particularly the'motor for powering the same, the car being shown mounted on the tracks of a toy railway system;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the car, looking at the front end of the car, parts being broken away to showthe motor and the driving wheels;

3 is a side elevation of a car made according to a modification of the invention; 7

Fig. 4 is a view looking at the front end of this car; 7

Fig. 5 is a side elevation, with parts broken away; showing a still further modified form of car;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the construction and operation of the motor and showing how it may be wired for a three rail electric train system; and

Fig. 7 is a similar diagrammatic view showing'how the motor and car may be wired for a two rail electric train system.

' A motor constructed according to the present inventioncomprises simply a field magnet consisting of a field coil and a soft iron core, a soft iron armature or rotor which turns with the Wheels of the car between the poles of the field magnet, and means for intermittently deriving current for the field coil from the track on which the unit is running. In a three rail system, the last-named means comprises a sliding or rolling contact member which engages the third rail, and which is connected to one side of the field coil, and one pair of the car wheels, this pair of car wheels being constructed to derive current intermittently from'the other two rails of the system and being connected directly to the armature or rotor. In the three rail system, the shaft, which carries the rotor and these two wheels, is journaled directly in the metallic frame of the car, and the other side of the field coil is grounded to the car frame.

In a. two rail system, one side of the field coil may be connected to a conducting wheel that runs on one track, and the other side of the field coil may be connected to the axle which carries the rotor and a wheel that is constructed to. derive current intermittently from the other track. In this case, the frame of the car is in-. sulated from the wheels, and the two other wheels of the car are insulated from the tracks on which they run.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 first, I6 denotes the body or frame of a'simple form of toy hand car constructed according to one embodiment of this invention. This is made of metal such as steel and is of U-shape in cross-,- section. The car is mounted to run on two pairs of wheels, the front or driving wheels of the car being designated at I4 and I5 and the rear or non-driving wheels at I6 and II. The driving wheels I4 and I5 are secured to an axle I8 which is journaled directly in the sides or skirts of the U-shaped frame I0. The non-driving wheels I6 and I! are securedto an axle I9 which is insulated from the frame of the car by sleeve 39 which may be made of any suitable insulating material.

The wheels I 4 and it of the car are adapted to roll on one rail 3!! of the track, and the wheels I5 and I l on another rail 3! thereof. Between the two rails 39 and 3| is the rail 32 which constitutes the third rail of the system. A shoe 35 rides on the third rail. The two rails 30 and 3| may be connected to one terminal of the transformer used with the electric train system, while the third rail is connected to the other terminal of this transformer. The wheels I4 and I5 are made of insulating material 28, but each has a copper shoe or segment 29 embedded therein and extending diametrically thereacross, so that as these wheels revolve, the alternating conducting and insulating segments of the wheel tread intermittently make andbreak contact with the rails 30 and 3| on which they roll, respec-. tively.

Welded or soldered to the underside of the body portion of the frame In of the. car is the iron core 25 of a horseshoe type field magnet; The field coil of this magnet is designated at 26. It is wound around one leg of the core. The field coil is connected on one side by line 31 (Fig. 6) with the axle I8; it. is connectedon the other side to shoe 35 which rides on third rail 32. 2'! denotes an armature or rotor which is secured to the axle 18, to revolvebetween the poles of the core 25 and cut the lines of force, which flow between these poles, as the wheels it and i5 revolve.

To start the car, it must be given a slight push manually, but when it has once started rolling, the motor will drive it, as long as current is supplied to the rails 30, 3| and 32, until it is manually stopped, or positively stopped in some other fashion. The rotor 21 and blocks 29 act in effect as a commutator and the momentum of the car the wheels M and it is made of a plastic itself will carry the rotor or commutator over gaps in the rails or switches. The commutator being .integral'with the driving wheels of the car. derives current intermittently from the track on which the car is running.

The motor of the present invention may be used t drive any type of toy which does not constitute too heavy .a load for the motor. Toy hand cars are especially suitedto be driven by a. motor such as described. These hand cars may, .of' course, have different constructions. The hand car shown in Figs. 1 and '2 is of the. simplest design. Besides the parts already described, it comprises simply tw U-shaped wire rods II and 12' which are soldered or otherwise fastened to the skirts of frame It at the front and rear thereof, and which simulate front and rear hand rails or guards.

A more elaborate form of hand car is shown in Figs. 3' and 4. Here essentially the same U-shaped sheet metal frame iii may be used as the frame It. To the rear of this figure there isusecured a U-shaped reinforcing rod42, and to the front of this frame there is secured a U-shaped rodfli which is bent slightly rearwardly near" its top or bight portion and which has mounted betwen its legs above the frame it a Windshield '45. This is provided with window openings 46 to simulate a standard motor-driven hand. car. It is also provided with a pair of openings which emit light from one or more light bulbs 43, simulating the headlights of such a hand car. These bulbs. are mounted in an angular bracket 4'! and may be connected in circuit with the-coil 26, by lines #9 and 5551 as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6. They will flicker on and off becauseof the intermittent making and breaking of the. circuit to the, coil 26, but will suffice for the purpose- A u shaped cover piece it, attached to the upper face ofgframe to, may be provided to enclose bracket 47 and bulbs 4-8.

, frame $8 is a figure i0 simulating a man. This figure'may have one or two legs H pivotally con: nected at '12 to a lug on the frame $0 and pivotally connected at l3'to the "body portion of the figure; and may haveone or two. armslfi pivot aiiyconnected at "IE to the body of the figure andpivotally connected at T! to lever 63." As the car rolls along, then, the man will move up and down as; though he. were operating the lever 53; Two. different positions of the man, lever,

insulating material 80 and has a block 8| of copper or other conducting material molded into it. The block 8! extends;- diametrically across the wheel 80 and is adapted to make current conducting; con-tact, intermittently with the rail, on which the wheel runs, as the wheel revolves thereon. The two wheels are secured to a shaft 88 upon which is mounted the armature or rotor block 90. One of the two nonedriving wheels is a conducting wheel. This wheel is at the opposite side of the .car from wheel-85- and' is adapted.

to roll on the other track of the system. It may be made of copper, steel or other conducting metal. The other non-driving wheel .81 is a nonconducting wheel made of insulating material. The, two non-driving wheels are secured to a shaft 89. This shaft is connected by a line 91 with one side of a field coil 95 and the other side of this field coil is connected by a line 92 with the shaft 88. The field coil is wound around a soft iron magnet such as the magnet core 25 of Fig. 1 and the rotor 96 is adapted to revolve, between the poles of this magnet. Thus, as the car moves along the tracks 95 and 91 which are. connected to a transformer or other suitable source of power and to the positive and negative terminals thereof, respectively, the wheel 8.6 picks up current from the trackfifi which is transmitted through the line 9!, coil 95, line 92, shaft '88 and intermittently through the block 84 to the rail 97, intermittently completing a circuit.-

Thus the coil 95 is intermittently energized. As the car runs along, moreover, the rotating armature 9i! intermittently cuts the lines of force between the poles of the magnets, so long as there is current in the tracks 95 and 91. Thus, When a car has been started it will run until stopped. If it is desired to have lights on the car, these lights, suchas the lights I00, may be connected with the lines 9| and 92 respectively by lines ml and [02 respectively.

While the invention has been described, in con nection with different embodiments thereof, it.

will be understood that it is capable of further modification and this application. is intended tov cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come. within known or customary practice in the art to. which the in--. vention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set, forth and as fall within the scope of the, invention or the limits of the appended claims- .Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

I. A wheeled carfor a toy electric railway-comprising a frame, wheels on which the frame is mounted and'which are adapted to roll on parallel rails of said railway, a field magnet mounted on the frame, .a. field coil wound around said magnet, an armature. connected with one of the 7 Wheels to. rotate therewith. andzpositioned to re.-

volve between the poles of the magnet, one of said wheels being constructed to make intermittent electrical contact only, as it revolves, with one of the rails of said railway, means for electrically connecting said one wheel to one side of the field coil, and means adapted to connect the other side of the field coil electrically with another rail of said railway as the toy moves along said railway.

2. A wheeled car for use on a toy electric railway three-rail system, comp-rising a frame, wheels on which the frame i mounted and which are adapted to run on two rails of said system, a field magnet mounted on the frame, a field coil wound around said magnet, an armature connected with one of the wheels to rotate therewith and positioned to revolve between the poles of the magnet, one of the wheels being made of an insulating material but having a block of conducting material embedded therein which extends part-way only around the periphery of the wheel so as to make intermittent contact only with the rail on which said one wheel runs as said one wheel revolves thereon, means for electrically connecting said one wheel to one side of the field coil, and means adapted to ride on the third rail of said system to connect said rail electrically with the other side of the field coil.

3. A wheeled car for use on a toy electric railway three-rail system, comprising a frame made of an electrical conducting material, a pair of axle journaled in the frame, a pair of wheels secured to each axle, one pair of wheels being made of an insulating material to be insulated from the rails on which they may run, means for insulating the axle, to which said one pair of wheels is secured, from the frame, the other pair of wheels being made of insulating material but each having an electrical conducting block embedded therein which extends part-way only around the periphery of each of the latter pair of wheels so as to make intermittent electrical contact with the rails on which said other pair of wheels run as the wheels revolve, a field magnet mounted on the frame, a field coil wound around said magnet, an armature mounted on the axle of said other pair of wheels, said armature being made of an oblong block of iron, which is of greater width than thickness, and being positioned to revolve between the poles of the magnet, one end of the coil being grounded to the frame, and means connected electrically to the other side of the coil and adapted to ride on the third rail of the system.

4. A wheeled car for use on a toy electric railway two-rail system, comprising a frame, wheels on which the frame is mounted and which are adapted to run on the rails of said system, a field magnet mounted on the frame, a field coil wound around said magnet, an armature connected with one of the wheels to rotate therewith and positioned to revolve between the poles of the magnet, one of the wheel being made of an electrically conducting material and being electrically connected to one side of the coil, and another of the wheels being made of an insulating material but having an electrical conducting material embedded therein that extends part-way only around the periphery of the last-named wheel so as to make intermittent contact with the rail on which the last-named wheel runs as the lastnamed wheel revolves, and means electrically connecting the last-named wheel with the other side of the coil, said two named wheels being insulated from each other and bein mounted at opposite sides of the car to run on separate rails.

5. A wheeled car for use on a toy electric railway two-rail system, comprising a frame, a pair of axles journaled in the frame, a pair of wheels secured to each axle, one wheel of one pair being made of an electrically conducting material and one wheel of the other pair being made of an insulating material having an electrically conducting block embedded therein and extending diametrically thereacr-oss so as to make contact intermittently only with the rail on which said one wheel runs as said one wheel revolves, said two named wheels being disposed at opposite sides of the car to roll on separate rails, the other two wheels being made of insulating material, a field magnet mounted on the frame, a field coil wound around said magnet, an armature connected with the second named wheel to revolve therewith and positioned to rotate between the poles of said magnet, and means electrically connecting the two axles with opposite sides of the coil.

6. A wheeled toy for use on an electrified railway system comprising a frame, a plurality of pairs of wheels on which the frame is mounted and which are adapted to roll on the electrified rails of said system, a field magnet mounted on the frame, a field coil wound around said magnet, and an armature connected to one pair of said wheels to rotate therewith and positioned to revolve between the poles of said magnet, at least one of said one pair of wheels being constructed to make intermittent electrical contact with the electrified rail on which it runs as it rotates, thereby producing intermittent surges of current through the field coil to cause rotation of the armature and said one pair of wheels, and means including said one wheel for transmitting current intermittently to said field coil from the rails.

'7. A wheeled car for a toy electric railway having at least two parallel rails through which operating current is supplied, said car comprising a frame, a plurality of wheels on which said frame is mounted, a field magnet mounted on the frame, a field coil wound around said magnet, an armature connected with one of said wheels to rotate therewith and positioned to revolve between the poles of said magnet, electrically-conducting means connected electrically to one side of said field coil and connected to one of said wheels to rotate therewith and to engage intermittently one of said two rails of said railway as the wheels rotate, whereby to connect one side of said field coil intermittently with the operating current, and means adapted to engage the other of said two parallel rails for electrically connecting said last named rail continuously to the other side of said field coil as the wheels rotate.

ROBERT LOUIS F. MCDONALD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,862,248 Wesnigk June 7, 1932 2,267,629 Van Over Dec. 23, 1941 2,446,296 Moritz Aug. 3, 1948 

